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From: sdyer@bbncc5.UUCP (Steve Dyer)
Newsgroups: net.med
Subject: Re: Placebos: Kaopectate
Message-ID: <305@bbncc5.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 7-Dec-85 18:24:06 EST
Article-I.D.: bbncc5.305
Posted: Sat Dec  7 18:24:06 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 9-Dec-85 03:44:09 EST
References: <769@drutx.UUCP> <4659@alice.UUCP>
Organization: Bolt Beranek and Newman, Cambridge, MA
Lines: 36

> >Incidently, no one has ever proved the familar anti-diarrheal, Kaopectate, 
> >works clinically, indeed pharmacologically there is no reason why it should, 
> >but it continues to sell very well anyway because people think it works, & 
> >MD's order it for their patients 'cause their patients think it works, and 
> >everyone's happy, more or less.
> >John Gurian
> 
> That's quite a strong statement!  Saying that no one has ever proved
> something implies that you have read all the medical literature in
> the world!
> 
> Perhaps someone with more knowledge can comment one way or another.
> How about it, Craig?

Oh, puhlleease, Andrew!  First, I believe Gurian is either an MD or a
medical student, and as such has as many credentials as anyone else,
including our favorite med student, Craig.  Also, it's true that controlled
studies on kaolin/pectin mixtures show very little efficacy over placebos
in most diarrheas.  You don't have to read all the medical literature in
the world to state that, just the few reports of controlled studies.  Any
pharmacology textbook will state this fact, and give references.  

I might mention in this regard that Pepto Bismol, a suspension of bismuth
subsalicylate, was long thought to be in the same category as Kaopectate:
simply an old, icky nostrum foisted off on consumers.  It turns out that
the pink stuff is actually quite effective in preventing and treating most
cases of traveller's diarrhea, although no one yet knows why.  It may be
that the salicylate is released in the colon and acts against the bacteria
which cause this syndrome, or perhaps it binds to the toxin which produces
the diarrhea.  Anyway, in THIS instance, controlled studies showed that
Pepto Bismol was effective.  I don't know whether it's as effective in most
ordinary, non-traveller's diarrheas.
-- 
/Steve Dyer
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